


A Coniferous Christmas

by Pinescoops



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:40:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23874847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pinescoops/pseuds/Pinescoops
Summary: Dipper flies back home to spend the holidays with his family. He plans to confess his crush towards his sister, but doesn't know if he'll even be able to muster the confidence.My Christmas fic for 2019.
Relationships: Dipper Pines/Mabel Pines
Comments: 1
Kudos: 25





	A Coniferous Christmas

**_-December 23rd, University of Pennsylvania-_ **

Dipper zipped up his carry-on and pulled it up into a standing position. Everything he needed to bring was packed except for a single piece of paper sitting on his dresser and a small, pink velvet box next to it. The paper had his deepest secret written in cursive. Something nobody could know, nor would even want to know. Not even the one it was directed towards. His twin sister Mabel. He had a crush on her.

"I bet you twenty bucks you're not gonna tell her." His college roommate Clayton called out to him from the doorway.

"Ughh, I know. It's just really hard." Dipper replied, dropping his confident act to unveil a terrified and panicked demeanor.

"No doubt. Admitting your incestuous feelings tends to be a difficult task." Clay teased, making him release an awkward short chuckle out of embarrassment, "Look at this way." He continued, "You'll feel a whole lot better once you get it off your chest."

"But what if I don't? I haven't talked to her for a whole year. What if she still has a boyfriend? What if she brings him along? What if she's grossed out and never wants to see me again?" Dipper explained she began pacing back and forth without realizing it. Clay put his hand on his roommate's shoulder, making him quit the whole panicked pacing thing.

"Dude, you've got to stop with the what if's. They're always your downfall." He said.

"No, my failure is usually due to a flawed plan.. and I think I just found some oversights in step thirteen." He responded and pulled out a piece of paper and unfolded it to reveal it's almost comical length. Clay reached out his hand.

"Give me the plan, Dipper. This is your sister. Just talk to her like a normal person and quit overthinking everything." He advised and Dipper conceded.

"I know, but I can't just tell her. There's more to it than that." He argued as he folded his plan up and stuffed it back into his pocket.

"Isn't that why you wrote the note? So you didn't have to say it out loud?" Clay questioned.

"Well.. yeah, but what if she doesn't like the note?" He said, making Clay groan out of frustration.

"What did I just say about the ‘what if's’? Don't forget we also made her that fancy ring. If she doesn't like that, then she's crazy. Okay?" He replied. Dipper looked over at the small velvet box that housed a silver ring he had custom made for her. Just laying eyes on the box made his heart sink. It was just a reminder of what couldn't be.

"You need to let her know. You've been keeping this a secret for too long, dude." Clay said as he left the room. Dipper let himself fall backwards onto his messy bed and released a sigh.

"Why do I do this to myself?" He said to himself, "Why does she have to be my  _ sister _ ? Of all people, why her?" The more he thought about it, the sicker he felt. His mind was doing backflips with his stomach following shortly after. He pulled his plan out, unfolded it, and began rereading it. "Maybe I do overthink things." He crumbled up his plan and tossed it towards the recycling bin. He missed and it landed right beside the bin.

Dipper was going to his parents house for Christmas and Mabel was too. He had moved across the country to go to a prestigious college while she stayed in California and went to some college across the San Francisco Bay. They hadn't seen each other at all since last Christmas. He'd been trying to forget about these feelings he had for her, so he's been leaving her texts and calls unanswered. He thought that if he didn't talk to her, then he'd eventually get over her, but it didn't quite work out that way. He'd been thinking of her even more, but couldn't bring himself to pick up her calls or answer her texts. It got difficult once Mabel started calling each morning and texting him throughout the day. Dipper had to pretend he didn't hear his phone going off. He was already in too deep. Answering now wouldn't make sense. What would his explanation for his year-long silence be? He knew he'd have to see her face to face in less than a day. She was supposed to be picking him up from the airport once his plane landed in Oakland. She'd undoubtedly ask him about his sudden disappearance from her life. He wasn't prepared to answer such a question, but he'd have to think of something fast and hope she didn't ask too many questions.

**_-Eight hours later, on a plane somewhere over the United States-_ **

Dipper watched the barren plains out the plane's window. The flight felt like it was taking years to him. He still couldn't come up with an answer for Mabel and was half preparing to just wing it when he got there. He needed to take his mind off his sister, so he dug his hand onto his pocket for his phone. As he grabbed his phone, his finger grazed against the soft velvet of the ring's box and he kept it there for a few seconds before running his finger along it. He found an odd serenity in the fabric and pulled the box and phone out of his jean's pocket. He sat his phone down on his leg and held the box with both his hands, rubbing his thumb along the top. The velvet began to lose its effect as his worries about the upcoming days arose back to the top of his mind. He opened the small box up to reveal a ring that had the words "Shooting Star" engraved into a silver band and a pink diamond that reflected the colorless light into something more.. Mabel-ly. Dipper found the gemstone in a cavern when he visited Gravity Falls last summer. He considered the idea of enlarging it with the magic crystals, but decided that it was already the perfect size for the ring and he didn't want to overdo it. The silver for the band was sourced through online shopping and he had some friends help him out when it came to the crafting process. He didn't think a store bought ring would be good enough, nevermind the fact he could never afford one. He knew she'd love the ring, but he wasn't so sure about the note he planned to go along with it. He let out a weak frustrated sigh as he stared into the diamond. This caught the attention of the elderly woman who was sitting next to him. She quickly studied the sight of a clearly distressed young man holding a ring box sporting a beautiful pink gem.

"You've got nothing to worry about. I'm sure she'll say yes." She said with certainty. Dipper quickly realised what she implied.

"Oh, no, I'm not proposing. This is just a gift for my.." He paused, "this girl I like." He corrected. He knew he'd never see this woman again, so there was no point in boring her with what would seem as familial love.

"Aww. Young love always warms my old heart. She'll love it. It's such a beautiful ring."

"Umm, yeah. I just.. wanted something that reminded me of her." He explained quietly. He felt awkward about the whole situation, since he never talked about how he felt inside, especially to people he didn't know.

"That's so sweet! What's sh-" the lady tried to speak, but was interrupted by her husband awakening from his slumber.

"Are you bothering somebody, again? We've talked about this." He scolded her.

"I'm just trying to make friends, Frank!" She argued back to her husband.

"You're not making any friends. You're making enemies with how much you talk and pry into random strangers' personal lives!"

"I do not!"

Dipper tried to block them out, but they were being too loud to ignore, so he pulled out his pair of earbuds and untangled them, putting one into each of his ears. He turned on music and tried to sleep for whatever was left of the flight.

**_-Two Hours Later, Oakland International Airport-_ **

Dipper texted Mabel, for the first time this year, to let her know he was ready at the curb. He watched his breath in the cold air and felt a chilly breeze blow onto him. He adjusted his scarf accordingly to keep his neck from freezing.

A few minutes passed and he finally saw his sister's car pull up. She popped the trunk and he threw his luggage into it. He spotted an abundance of colorful bumper stickers upon the back of her car. He weakly smiled knowing Mabel was still.. Mabel. The same realisation scared him as he knew the Mabel he had grown up with would most likely be appalled about her brother crushing on her. He closed the trunk, walked back up to the passenger door, and took a deep breath before he looked at his twin face to face after trying to avoid her for almost an entire year. He opened the door and sat down, being blasted by the warmth from the heater. She watched him place his backpack onto the floor under the glovebox and close the car door behind him.

"Hi Dip." Mabel said plainly. 

"Um, hi Mabel." He greeted back with nervousness audible in his voice. He took a moment to take in the sight of her. She was wearing her usual holiday apparel choices, including a colorful sweater, a pair of warm pajama pants, and her pair of pink cat slippers. She didn't look dressed for going out into freezing temperatures, but instead more for waking up on a chilly morning. He scanned her face and confirmed that she was just as beautiful as the last time he saw her. He watched as a frown began forming on her face..

"Mabel, are you okay?" He asked as she started driving out of the airport.

"No."

"What's wrong?"

"You've been ghosting me." She confronted the issue head on.

"What? No I haven't!" Dipper tried playing dumb, but she knew he was ignoring her.

"Dipper, I know you've seen my texts. It shows me that you've read them." She explained in an aggravated tone. He had hoped that she wouldn't talk about it, but he knew she was going to. He'd been ignoring her messages and now he has to deal with the consequences, but he still tried to convince her otherwise.

"I've been busy." He defended. She wasn't buying it.

"Too busy to text back "hi"? Too busy to pick up my calls? You're trying to tell me that you've been busy all day, every day, for the past year?"

"I.. um, yeah..?"

"Dipper, I've talked to your roommate Clay. I know you've been avoiding me. What did I do?" Her eyes got watery and a single tear rolled down her cheek, burning a hole in his heart.

"N-nothing, Mabel. You did nothing." He choked on the lump in his throat. He realized he was hurting her more than he originally thought.

"Then why don't you want to talk to me anymore? You promised me we wouldn't grow apart." She continued. The guilt had been killing him all year, but this conversation made it unavoidable.

"I.. it's complicated Mabel."

"So we're keeping secrets from each other now?" She cried. Dipper opened his mouth, but couldn't get any words out.

"You promised, Dipper. You're my best friend and you just cut contact with me completely."

"I'm sorry." He apologized before he finally stopped holding back his tears.

"I've needed you more than ever this year, Dip. And-and you weren't there for me at all." She choked up and pulled the car over to the side of the road, "nobody was.."

"What happened, Mabel?" He asked when his jaw slowed down on its quivering. She released a shaky sigh and began explaining.

"Well to start off the year, I caught Brian cheating on me." She started. Dipper never liked Brian and not just because he was going out with the girl of his dreams, but instead because he always ignored Mabel and seemed like a douche the majority of the time. It puzzled him why she even liked Brian in the first place.

"And then about a month later I found myself trapped in what I think was an abusive relationship." She continued.

"That's awful. What do you mean trapped?" He curiously asked, hoping we wasn't prying too deep into any sensitive subjects.

"I guess it was just.. I was in a tough spot. I didn't know what to do. I felt all alone and he was the only person around that seemed like they actually wanted anything to do with me. I knew he loved me deep down, hidden underneath all the hatred for the world and stuff. I didn't want to hurt his feelings. I didn't even know how he would take it. Like, if he hit me when we loved each other, what would he do if we didn't? I was too scared to leave, Dip." She spoke. Her tears had somewhat subsided, but her voice was still shaky.

"How'd you get out?"

"I didn't. He just.. disappeared." Mabel answered, "He was here one day and.. gone the next."

"Do you have any idea what happened?"

"No… I'm kinda glad he's gone, but.. I do worry about him occasionally."

"Don't worry about him. At least you're out of it. What else has been going on?" He questioned.

"Oh, so while all that was going on, my friends just seemed to just stop talking to me.. including you."

"Look, Mabel, I'm so so sorry. I didn't think any of this would happen. I just thought this was going to be another one of those boring years, y'know?" Dipper unbuckled his seatbelt and held out his arms, inviting her into a hug.

"Sympathetic sibling hug?" He asked. Mabel unbuckled hers and threw herself into his arms. Her crying picked back up and he squeezed her as tight as he could. The embrace was made uncomfortable by the car's center console, but it didn't stop the twins from enjoying it.

"An-and then there were these girls that made fun of the way I looked." She cried into his scarf.

"Don't listen to them, Mabel. They're full of bullshit. You're the most beautiful person I know." He said softly. She hugged him even tighter.

"I-I just f-felt so.. so.. worthless, Dipper. I didn't know what to do.. I just wanted to lay in bed all day and cry." She admitted as she tried to bury her face deeper.

"Shh.. shh.. it'll be okay. Everything will be alright Mabes. I promise. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" He asked in an attempt to comfort her.

"Just.. stop ignoring me, Dip.. please.." She pleaded into his scarf.

"I will never, ever do this again. I'm so sorry." He promised.

"I missed you." She muffled into him.

"I missed you too." He returned. She pulled away and grabbed his chin.

"And what's all this about?" She asked, referring to his now full beard. Her crying had stopped, but her eyes were still watery.

"Oh, heh. I thought I'd try and grow it out. What do you think?" He explained. She let out a quiet giggle.

"I think you look old." Mabel teased. They shared a short laugh and buckled their seatbelts back up. Dipper looked over at her. Her sobbing had settled down to the occasional sniffle, as had his own.

"So was there anything else that happened?" He asked to make sure he'd been fully caught up on her life.

"Oh, yeah. I kind of-" She began, but caught her tongue before it waggled about.

"Kind of what?"

"Noth-.. nothing.. it's nothing. Just forget I said anything."

"Come on, Mabel. You can tell me."

"Yeah, I know. Alright, I'll tell you, but first, you have to tell me why you ignored me all year." She bargained.

"Heh.. I guess not knowing everything is fine." He replied in denial to her deal.

"Laaame!" She shouted as she merged back onto the road, "Anyway, whatcha been up to?"

"Oh, you know, just.. nerd stuff." He answered while watching a small smile grow onto her face, warming his heart and putting a smile upon his own. She reached over and tickled his chest.

"I'm gonna need more details than that, Dip." She replied. Thankfully his clothes were too thick for his ticklish tendencies to get the better of him and she stopped after his lack of a reaction.

"Alright, well, truthfully, I haven't been doing much. Just hanging out with friends, playing video games, and studying. The mystery hunting thing has been slow this year." He explained.

"Oh my God, that's so frickin' boring. My year was, like, a tragic tale and yours was lame as heck." Mabel replied.

"Heh, yeah, it was pretty boring," He started, "but that's just college being college."

"Maybe it would've been more fun if you talked to me."

"Yup, it certainly would've." He said in agreement and sighed shortly after, "Look, I'll make it up to you. Whatever you want to do, we'll do it."

"Feeling guilty, huh? You really don't have to, Dip. I understand. Too busy curing cancer, or whatever it is that you study, to talk to your ol' sister."

"Mabel, you're the most important person in my life. This year was just a, uh, hiccup in our adventure into adulthood. It won't happen again, I swear."

"Heh, just make sure I get my own page in your biography, Dipstick." She responded, messing up the hair under his beanie, "I love you, dork."

"I love you too, Mabel." He said back.

**_-Twenty Minutes Later-_ **

Mabel pulled into the driveway and parked next to their parents' car. Dipper put on his backpack and grabbed his luggage out of the trunk and they went inside. As the twins entered, they were met by Waddles at the door.

"Hey Waddles!" Mabel exclaimed as she kneeled down and hugged her pig. Since her dorms didn't allow pets, Waddles had to stay with their parents, who were reluctant at first, but Mabel had a way of swaying others to her side. Dipper closed the door behind himself and gave his sister's pig a soft pat on the head. After they finished giving their greetings to the pink beast, she led him to the kitchen where their mother was preparing dinner.

"Hey Mom." He greeted.

"Dipper! It's good to see you again!" Mom said as she walked over and pulled him into a warm hug, "How have you been?"

"I've been good. You?"

"Fantastic. Your father will be out in a moment. He's just in the bathroom." Their mother informed.

"Okay, well, I'm just going to put my stuff up in my room real quick." He announced and started towards the stairs, but stopped when his mother spoke up.

"Oh, we had to use your room for storage, so you'll have to sleep on the couch, sweetie. We're really sorry." Mom said. Mabel could tell he didn't want to sleep on the lumpy old couch.

"Aw, a couch is no place for my bro! We can share my bed for the week!" Mabel offered with a smile. Dipper had planned on getting some quiet time to himself, but having to share a room with his sister again would make that challenging.

"Sounds fun!" He responded with fake excitement, "I'll be back down in a second." He carried his stuff up the stairs towards the room.

"Do we, by any chance, have any more wrapping paper?" Mabel asked her mom.

"Hmm.. nope. You had our last roll. Why? Did you use it all already?" She replied.

"I might've… In my defense, there was barely any left." She tried justifying herself.

"There was half a roll left, Mabel."

"It was your fault for giving me the rest." She said back, "Anyway, can you pick some up for me tomorrow?"

"I don't get tomorrow off, sweetie. You'll have to go get some yourself." Mom explained. The twins' father walked into the kitchen.

Dipper stepped into the room he was going to have to share with his sister for the next ten days. The air smelled of sugar, superglue, and somehow rainbows. She had only gotten here two days before him, but she already had a bunch of sweaters strung about with her desk littered with a multitude of her art projects. The room was a mess, but he didn't mind as his dorm room wasn’t exactly clean either. Granted, his messes included less colors and more crumpled up pieces of paper. Dipper laid his carry-on down and put his backpack up against the wall. He unwrapped his scarf from his neck, slipped his mittens off his hands, and threw them onto his carry-on. He then left the room and went back downstairs. Once he made himself visible to the kitchen, his father called over towards him.

"There's the other twin! Come over here and give your old man a hug!" He shouted. Dipper went over and gave his dad a brief embrace.

"Missed ya, Dad." He said while giving his dad a fist bump.

"Missed ya too, kiddo."

"Hey Dip. Wanna go decorate the tree? I've been waiting for you to get here to do it. It's just sitting there, looking all boring and stuff." Mabel offered.

"Uh, sure." He simply answered and she grabbed his hand, pulling him into the living room, where the Christmas tree was located. Her hand was soft and filled with warmth. The touch made him shiver as it warmed his whole body and face. He used to not mind the physical contact she always gave him, but as his crush on her grew stronger and stronger, so did the reactions his body would have to her touch. She let go of his hand and picked up a large plastic storage bin filled with the tree's decorations. She gently placed it next to the tree stand, popped the locks that held the lid on, and lifted the top off, revealing all the different colored bulbs, bells, and other miscellaneous ornaments. On top of them all was the tree-topper: a yellow metal star. Mabel placed it onto a nearby table for later. They began hanging the decorations up and Dipper felt the room was too quiet.

"So.. umm.. would you want to, like.. I dunno.. watch one of those cheesy Christmas movies they constantly replay on tv later tonight?" He asked awkwardly. His body was still trying to cool down from touching her hand.

"Hmm.. I don't know. Let me check my schedu- nah I'm just messing with ya. Cheesy Christmas movies all the way, bro." She responded. He smiled at her and held up three fingers.

"Three," He said, putting down one of the fingers, "Two," He continued and Mabel joined in, counting down in sync with him, "One! And then grampa learned the true meaning of Christmas!" The twins shouted in unison and their father walked in on them being silly. They burst into mild laughter and their dad chuckled as he sat down in his armchair, grabbing the remote to turn on the tv.

"I'm amazed at how well you two get along still." Their dad said as he flicked through the channels.

"It's guess it's a Christmas miracle! Eh, Dip?" She exclaimed. They giggled some more and finished hanging the ornaments after another couple minutes. Mabel grabbed the tree-topper and tried to reach the top of the tree on her own, but she was too short.

"Need some help?" Dipper asked after watching her struggle.

"Please. Just gimme a lift." She requested. He kneeled down and wrapped his arms around her knees, lifting her up into the air. Her thigh rested against his ear and the pinkness in his face returned.

"Thank you, Dippin'dots. Now let me down." She ordered after putting the star atop the tree.

"I could let you down.. or I could kidnap you." He said playfully and started walking around while carrying her.

"Let me down! Ahaha!" She laughed.

"Kids! Dinner's done!" Their mom shouted from the kitchen, interrupting their fun. He set his sister back onto the ground and they went into the kitchen.

**_-Three Hours Later-_ **

The Pines twins were on the couch, wrapped up in throw blankets, watching a Christmas movie. Their father was in his armchair and their mother was next to them on the couch. Mabel stared attentively as if she had never watched it while Dipper's gaze had been switching between the tv and her. The movie began coming to a close and she tapped his shoulder. He knew what she was planning and prepared himself.

"And then grampa learned the true meaning of Christmas!" They shouted in unison with the movie. They've seen this particular movie so many times that the phrase became an inside joke to them during the holiday season. They laughed a little bit and Mabel stood up.

"And on that note, I'm going to sleep." She announced.

"Yeah, me too." He followed up. They traded their "goodnights" and "sleep tights" with their parents and the twins went upstairs.

They both laid down on opposite sides of the bed and she turned her lamp off. Dipper tried to sleep, but his fears bubbled back to the top of his head. He stared at the ceiling trying to think of literally anything else besides his sister. It didn't help that he could feel the mattress move whenever she shifted herself into a different position. He wanted her more than anything, but he knew she deserves someone better. Someone who isn't her brother. All the guilt from neglecting her over the past year also returned and he felt the urge to look at the texts she had been sending him. He pulled his phone off the charger and opened the messaging app. He scrolled through the texts she sent him and there was the only thing sent back from him was a text saying he was ready to be picked up. He could've laid there and continued scrolling for the next hour, but he forced himself to put this phone down, but he still couldn't sleep. She rolled over and saw him staring at the ceiling.

"Can't sleep?" She questioned.

"I guess." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Well I can't either, heh." She sighed.

"Why can't you sleep?"

"Oh well.. just dealing with something. You?"

"I'm umm.. also dealing with something, I guess."

"What's bothering you, broseph?"

"I don't know.." he let out a sigh, "I guess I'm just feeling really awful about the whole 'ghosting you' thing." He answered, not entirely lying.

"Oh, Dip. You don't have to feel all guilty about it. I'm sure you had your reasons and besides, I'm totally over it. You're here now and that's all that matters."

"No, I  _ do _ have to feel guilty about it, Mabel. You're my twin and I should've been there when you needed me." He argued.

"I said I forgive you. Just stop thinking about it. It's in the past."

"The past.." He said to himself quietly, "Do you think that time travel guy would help out?" He asked.

"Dipper." She responded sternly, "Stop looking for an easy way out of your problems. Just accept your mistake and move on."

"But-"

"No buts, bro. Just go to sleep." She interrupted. She rolled back over to face the wall the wall and tried to sleep. He did the same and fell asleep after a couple of restless minutes.

**_-The Next Morning-_ **

Dipper awoke to see Mabel doing origami at her desk. He saw barely any light coming in from the window.

"Good morning, Dip." His sister greeted him with a bright smile.

"Ughh, what time is it?" He asked groggily, rubbing his eyes and stretching his arms.

"Six forty eight." She answered quickly after checking her phone.

"How long have you been up?"

"Two hours. Look what I made!" She exclaimed and moved the folded paper object that resembled an animal, "It's a giraffe."

"It looks good." He complimented her craft and let out a yawn, "What were you doing up so early?"

"I dunno. Just woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. Oh! I have something to show you."

"What is it?"

"Okay, so I was looking through some boxes aaand look what I found!" She said with a big smile on her face as she pulled out a pink sweater with a shooting star designed on the front of it. It was her favorite sweater that seemed to vanish out of thin air when they were fifteen. It certainly didn't fit her anymore, but she loved it nonetheless.

"You found it!? Where was it?" He asked while giving her a smile in return.

"It was in your room buried in a box that was inside another box and surrounded by a bunch of other boxes."

"How'd it get there?"

"My guess is that mom was cleaning up the house and found it. It was stuffed with a bunch of other things I thought we lost, like your lucky pen." She explained as she grabbed a grey pen from her art drawer and handed it to him. He raised his brow and looked at it curiously. It was slightly bent at the middle point.

"Huh, I forgot about this."

"You were obsessed with it for like a whole year after a girl said you looked smart when you had it clipped onto your shirt pocket." Mabel replied and he blushed softly. "You were such a ladies man." She teased and let out a short giggle as he blushed harder.

"Heh, shut up. You dated almost every dude in middle school." He teased back. They shared a laugh and then Mabel let out a sigh.

"Those were the days." She responded, reminiscing of the good times.

"Well, I'm going to grab something to eat." He announced as he crawled out of bed.

"If you want a minute, Mom's almost done making pancakes." Mabel informed.

"Oh, okay then." He dug through his carry-on for a change of clothes and left for the bathroom to take a shower. Mabel continued practicing her origami.

After his short shower, Dipper walked downstairs to see Mabel eating a stack of four pancakes.

"Aw, you just missed Mom." She told him as he stacked three fluffy pancakes onto his plate and poured syrup on them.

"Well, that sucks." He responded and sat down next to her, "Did Dad also go to work today?"

"Yeah. Man, it sucks that they don't get Christmas Eve off of work. I'm  _ really _ not looking forward to that part of being an adult." She admitted with a slight frown on her face.

"Yeah, me neither, but hey, at least we'll be able to legally drink alcohol." He joked in an attempt to make his sister smile again.

"Legally is the keyword there, broski." She quipped back with a wink, "Wanna come with me to the mall? I have to go pick some things up and it's going to be boring here at home all alone, so I thought I'd just spend the day walking around." She offered.

"Yeah, it definitely beats just sitting around watching the same movies over and over again." He accepted and stuffed his mouth with a forkful of pancake.

"Sweet! The mall opens in, like, an hour or so, so we've still got some time to kill." Mabel explained.

"Soo.. what do you want to do until then?" He asked.

"Hmm.. I don't know. Maybe like a game of Truth or Dare?" She proposed. He shook his head. He knew that'd either go south fast or he'd just lose. Neither outcome he was intrigued by.

"What about checkers?" She asked with a shrug of the shoulders from her brother.

"Alright, I got it. Snowball fight!" She shouted.

"Sounds fun. Let's do it." He acceded. They finished their breakfast and headed back upstairs to put on their heavier clothes to shield themselves from the harsh winter cold. They then rushed downstairs and out the front door. The twins began pelting each other with snowballs in no time. The bombardment of cold projectiles only stopped once a snowball nailed Mabel directly in the face.

"Ow!" She cried out and dropped herself to sit in the snow. Her brother's fun smile quickly faded to a concerned straight face.

"Oh my God, Mabel. Are you okay?" He ran over and kneeled down to try to help comfort her. When his guard was down, Mabel threw a snowball into his gut.

"Haha! You always fall for that." She laughed.

"Well you get better at faking it each time!" He replied, "I'm exhausted. How long were we doing that?"

"Ten minutes." She answered after checking her phone.

"Ugghh.. wanna see what's on tv?" He asked.

"Heh, only if I get to pick what we watch." She bargained and they walked back inside.

**_-Two Hours Later, At The Mall-_ **

The twins walked into the party supply store for the stuff Mabel needed. Once they found where the rolls of wrapping paper were at, she grabbed one and held it up like a sword.

"On guard!" She joked. Dipper gifted her a chuckle as a response to her ridiculousness. He picked one up for himself and poked her stomach with it.

"Gotcha." He said with a smile on his face.

"No fair. I wasn't ready." She argued.

"Hmm, I don't know. You looked pretty ready to me."

"Well I wasn't, but I am now. Round two!" She exclaimed and they began play-fighting with the rolls of wrapping paper. These were the kinds of activities Dipper wouldn't normally partake in out of fear of public embarrassment, but every time he was with Mabel, he found himself able to come out of his shell. Their little play session in the aisle of the store had ended and they continued browsing the store for her supplies. The two of them left after paying for all the things she needed for the Christmas party tomorrow, which included streamers, confetti, balloons, and more. All of which she made sure were the proper colors for the occasion. She appointed herself as the party organizer and while her mother didn't endorse such a position, there was nothing she could do about it. Once all the supplies were stuffed into the trunk of Mabel's car, the twins continued walking around the mall to waste time. As they strolled next to each other, Dipper's hand accidentally grazed his sister's.

"Sorry." He said quickly, lightly blushing.

"Whatcha apologizing for?" She asked, puzzled by his behavior, "This better not be about the 'ignoring me all year thi-'"

"No, it's not that. I just slightly touched your hand is all." He explained, blushing a little harder. She was now more confused by his apology.

"Why are you saying sorry for that?" She laughed, "What? You think we're getting too old to hold hands, hmm?" She asked as she grabbed his hand.

"Well umm.. maybe..?" He answered, unsure of how he should've responded.

"So I'm making you  _ uncomfortable _ ?" She teased, still holding his hand. He bit his tongue. He didn't want her to know he liked holding her hand, but he didn't want her to let go. He squeezed her hand. She seemed to get the message and squeezed back. They held hands through half of the mall until Mabel piped up.

"So uhh.. we gonna stop holding hands orrr.."

"Oh, uh, sorry." Dipper apologized quietly as he hastily removed his grip from his sister's hand.

"No, I mean like.. I'm fine either way.. but some people might not understand our super close twin bond thing.. or whatever" She explained awkwardly. He stayed silent and avoided looking at her until they reached the arcade.

"Dipper, what's wrong? You're being really quiet." She asked with a concerned look.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just thinking about nerd stuff, y'know?" He answered, "Let's just play some games."

"If there's something wrong, just let me know and I can help."

"Yeah.. hey Pacman!" He exclaimed with obviously fake excitement in his voice, "I bet I can score higher than you." She looked at him intensely until letting the issue go.

"I doubt it." She finally replied.

After a few hours of playing games in the arcade, the Pines twins found themselves aimlessly walking around the mall again. Once they passed by the food court, Mabel tugged on Dipper's hoodie.

"Yo Dip. I'm hungry." She proclaimed.

"Alright. Well, what do you want?" He asked as he fixed his jacket from her aggressive pull.

"Hmm.. I'm really feelin' a cheeseburger right now." She answered and they walked over to one of the vendors. She scanned the multiple options of burgers on the menu, but settled on just a regular cheeseburger.

"I'll have a number three with curly fries. Oh, and a small coffee." She told the cashier.

"Coffee?" Dipper asked.

"Hey, don't judge me. I've been up since four." She explained.

"Is that all?" The boy at the register questioned.

"Are you gonna get anything, Dip?"

"No. I'm not hungry." He answered.

"Yup, that's all." She replied to the cashier.

"Alright.. your total is six eighty-seven." The boy said.

"You're paying, right?"

"When did I say that?" He asked.

"You're supposed to pay for the girl's food." She argued.

"What is this? A date?"

"Yes. Now buy me a burger."

"Ughh fine. You're lucky I love you." He complied as he pulled out his wallet.

"Eeek! You're the bestest, Dip!" She squealed as she gave him a warm hug. The cashier let out a quiet chuckle. Dipper paid for her food and they sat down on the edge of the food court.

"You chose a terrible spot for a date." She teased.

"Heh, shut up." He shot back playfully.

"On the topic of dating though, you've been leaving me in the dark here." She said as she lifted her burger to take a bite.

"What do you mean?" He asked. She held up her finger to signal that she'll be ready to talk in a second.

"Like, do you have a girlfriend?" She questioned once she swallowed the chunk of her burger that was in her mouth.

"Oh.. uh, no." He answered, looking away from her. He didn't want to talk about his dating life with anyone, especially with the one he was longing for.

"What? Bro, you're still single? How long has it been since you've had a girlfriend? Like, the eleventh grade?" She pried for more info. She grabbed a curly fry and stuffed it in her mouth after dunking it in ketchup.

"Well, yeah." His gaze fixated on her fries out of embarrassment, "But you're single too, so like.. we're kinda the same here."

"Hmm, not really. At least I dated someone this year." She replied.

"Both of them were assholes, Mabel." Dipper argued.

"Ugh, you always get pissy about my boyfriends. Even the nice ones, bro. What's your problem with every guy I've ever dated?" She asked, aggravated.

"N-nothing. I don't have a problem with them."

"You definitely do, Dip. Maybe it's that youuu.." She began and let her voice trail off as she thought of any logical reason for his behavior. She let out a gasp and continued, "You're just jealous!" His eyes shot open wide.

"Wh-what are you t-talking about? Why would I be j-jealous?" He stammered out as he felt his cheeks start burning up.

"Dude, it's _so_ obvious. You're jealous that I've had multiple boyfriends throughout college and you haven't even had one girlfriend!" She accused him. He felt a wave of relief wash over him, but he was still uncomfortable with the direction this conversation was going.

"Heh, you caught me!" He exclaimed and let out a nervous chuckle.

"It's okay my dear ol' socially awkward brother. I shall teach you the ways of a love master!" She announced. The whole food court undoubtedly heard her. Maybe even the whole mall.

"Woah, quiet down Mabes. I don't think I need lessons on how to talk to someone." He declined.

"Are you trying to die alone? Because that's how you die alone. You're literally the worst when it comes to talking to girls." She argued.

"Alright, fine. What do I have to do?" He asked.

"Firstly, tell me, Dip. Do you have a crush on anybody? Anybody at all. It'll help with the exercise." She questioned him. His blush had returned.

"Uhh.. nope.. and doesn't this seem a little cliche?" He answered.

"Come on. I need to know who she is so I can pretend to be her." She scolded. She knew he liked someone. He was acting too awkward about this for him not to be interested in someone.

"I'm telling you, there's nobody. Just.. just be yourself." He continued denying his affection. 

"I don't see how being myself would be helpful. How about I pretend to be a cowgirl from the Wild West instead?"

"Seriously, Mabel. Just act like you would." He contested again. She raised a brow.

"Dang nabbit, Dippin'sauce!" She shouted in an exaggerated southern accent.

"Cut it out." He said firmly. She was confused by his sudden irritation.

"Ughh, fine. So I guess we start off with the introduction. Pretend you see me across from the food court and I catch your eye. Introduce yourself!" She began the exercise. Dipper cleared his throat.

"Hey, uhh. I like your hair..? Wanna go out sometime?" He attempted. Mabel giggled for a few seconds at his awkwardness.

"I like that you were upfront and.. somewhat confident, but that's a terrible introduction." She explained.

"Yeah, well, how should I introduce myself?" He asked while nervously tapping his knee.

"Don't shoot your shot right off the bat. Try getting to know her first and don't open with a compliment. You came off as a total creep." She advised. "Okay, take two!" She exclaimed. He stood up and cleared his throat again.

"Hi, I'm Dipper..? Can I sit here?" He asked with uncertainty.

"Yeah sure." She answered in character. He sat down in the chair and continued.

"So.. erm.. I'd like to get to know you..?"

"Ughh, cut!" She said loudly, "You're trying way too hard."

"Sorry. What should I say instead?"

"Bro, there's the problem. You're following the guide too closely. Just do what comes natural to you and quit thinking about it so much." Mabel explained.

"I can't, Mabel. Overthinking everything  _ is _ what comes naturally to me. I don't know how to just shut off my brain. I've tried to and it just doesn't."

"Stop trying to. You'll just end up overthinking your overthinking." She advised.

"I don't think it's that simpl-"

"Just try it!" She interrupted. He groaned and stood up.

"Hi. My name's Dipper. What's yours?" He asked.

"Kaylee." She answered. He mentally replaced it with Mabel.

"Can I sit here?"

"Why not?" She replied and he sat back down.

"Okay.. so umm.. what's your story?"

"I'm from a chicken farm in Texas and my Papa sent me west to California to make it big in Hollywood once my mama passed from an infected bite wound from a coyote on one of our camping trips. There was a mixup with the flights and I ended up here in Oakland, selling passerbys copies of my latest psychological horror slash romantic novel called "The Pig Human Hybrid From The Canadian Springs". So what's your story?" She elaborated.

"I.. what?"

"Oh.. sorry. Was there a plot hole in the backstory I made?" She asked.

"Uh.. I don't know."

"Anyway, let's just continue." She urged him.

"Umm.. okay. I'm from California, but I go to college over in Pennsylvania. I spend my free time investigating strange occurrences across the country and sometimes even hunt them down. I can also play the xylophone decently, I think." He explained.

"Wow. That's so cool. You've got to take me on one of your adventures. It's so boring here in California. Nobody even buys my book."

"Heh, sure. I mean I usually go with my friends, but another member of the group wouldn't hurt." He scratched the back of his neck. This whole situation felt weird to him.

"And you've GOT to show me your xylophone skills. It's an underappreciated instrument." She responded.

"Heh, you think so?"

"Of course I do! It's only the.. okay I don't know anything about xylophones. Let's just pretend I said something cool about them." She laughed. He nodded his head.

"Yeah, alright.. ahem. So, uh. Tell me about yourself. Do you come here often?" He questioned.

"Only to sell my books. It's a slow business. I do spend a lot of time walking around the lake and feeding the ducks. They remind me of the chickens back home with Papa."

"Heh, maybe we could umm.. go together one day..?" He said, making Mabel squeal like a pig.

"There ya go, Dip! That wasn't so hard, now was it? Be like that and you won't have too much of a problem.. probably." She congratulated.

"Uh, thanks.. I guess."

"No problemo broseph. Glad to help." She replied while finishing the last of her lunch. Dipper checked his phone for the time.

"Alright, Dad should be home by now." He informed her.

"Well then we should get going if we want to capitalize on it." They got up and headed back home.

They spent the rest of the day with their parents doing Christmas activities such as making gingerbread houses and popcorn garland, singing carols and watching even more Christmas movies. Once the day was over, Dipper laid on the bed staring at the ceiling, just like everyday for the past week. The voices in his head were louder than they had ever been. Tomorrow was the day he was supposed to tell Mabel about his undying love for her. He wasn't ready for it. He wanted to tell her, but just didn't know how she'd react. She could end up reading the note out loud. It wouldn't even be her fault. How would she know it was going to be an admission of love.

Mabel had been watching his chest rise and fall as he took breaths. She could tell there was something that was really bothering him. He needed a release from his troubles.

"Cuddle time!" She shouted out of nowhere as she threw her arm around his torso.

"Agghh!" He screamed, "I thought you were asleep!"

"Hehe. How could I sleep when I know my most favoritist person in the whole world is upset?" She asked.

"I don't know. Close your eyes?" He answered sarcastically, "And I'm not upset. I'm just thinking."

"Dip, you've been acting all weird the whole time you've been here." She accused him.

"What? No I haven't." He denied.

"Oh c'mon. Do you think I don't hear your nervous laughs? Not to mention the whole 'avoiding me all year' thing." She elaborated.

"Look, I'm just going through something right now. I'll tell you in the morning, I promise."

"You better, or else I'll force it out of you."

"Okay, yeah, I will. Can you go back to your side of the bed now?" He asked.

"Bro, once I say cuddle time. It means cuddle time. There's no reversing it after it's been said.. and I'm cold.. or something." Mabel explained.

"Yeah, I know." He sighed. They fell asleep next to each other just a couple minutes later.

**_-Christmas Morning-_ **

"Dipper! Dipper! Wake up! It's Christmas!" Mabel shouted into his ear.

"Ugghh, what time is it?" He asked, slowly pulling himself up into a sitting position.

"It's five thirty!" She exclaimed, resulting in a groan from her tired brother.

"Why? Why are still at this? How do you still wake up this early!?" He questioned her. She just shrugged her shoulders.

"Mom and Dad are waiting downstairs for us." She informed.

"Can't they wait another five minutes or something?"

"Get up! Get up!" She started chanting, "Get up! Get up!"

"Okay! Okay. I'm up." He responded as he rubbed his eyes, "I'll meet you downstairs."

"Gotcha." She started towards the door.

"Hey uh.. Merry Christmas, Mabel." He said before she left the room.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Dip." She said back and walked downstairs. He pulled himself out of bed and quickly changed into some clean clothes. He grabbed the ring box and his love note from where he hid them and stuffed them into his pocket. Desperate for any more possible confidence, he clipped his old lucky pen onto his flannel shirt's breast pocket.

When he reached the living room, Mabel handed him a cup of coffee. He thanked her and sat down on the couch next to her. He traded "good morning"s with his parents and Mabel left the room. They remained silent until she returned, holding a stack of three sweaters she made for this occasion. She was already wearing hers.

"Alright, I swear these aren't going to burst into flames like last year." She joked as she passed them out. They were different colors with a unique pattern on each.

"They look great this year, sweetie." Her mom praised her work.

"Yeah, they're really soft as well." Dad followed up.

"Thanks." Dipper simply said as he took off his flannel overshirt and replaced it with the festive sweater, sacrificing the potential effects of the lucky pen in the process. Mabel glowed from all the praise and sat back down.

"So in what order are we doing the gifts this year?" She asked.

"Whatever order you want, pumpkin." Their father answered and took a sip from his coffee.

"Okay, welll.. I'll start with these." She said while she handed them both cubic boxes. They opened them up to reveal ceramic mugs that she made for them.

"Aww, Mabel, they're wonderful. You did a really good job on these." Mom thanked joyously.

The family continued the gift giving until it was Mabel's turn to give the present she got for her brother. She grabbed a decent sized box and placed it on his lap. He expected it to be like last year and it was going to be a box full of clothes she made for. He did like those gifts as they reminded him of her. An image he always welcomed into his mind. He was surprised to see a picture of a drone on the side of the box after tearing the wrapping paper.

"I thought it might come in handy with your exploring or something. Sorry, I didn't know what else to get you. I haven't seen ya all year." She explained.

"No, no, it's great, Mabel. I love it. Thank you." He said as he pulled her into a hug.

"Well that's a relief. I wasn't sure you'd like it." She replied, "so uh.. what'd you get me?" She asked shyly, trying not to sound overly excited.

"Oh, uh yeah.  _ That _ ." He said as he reached into his pocket for the box and the note. Before he pulled them out, he thought for a second. Where would this lead? How could this even end? What if she didn't feel the same? Thoughts that weren't new to him at all, but felt amplified by the expecting stares his family were giving him.

"Umm.. whatcha taking so long for? Is everything alright?" Mabel asked with concern. He caved in and let out a sigh, releasing the paper from his grip and only pulled the box out of his pocket. He handed it to her with his shaking hands. His heart has sunken down to his stomach and felt as though someone stabbed it and twisted the knife. He tried to swallow the lump in his throat, but it was practically a stone. He reached back into his pocket to try to pull the note out again, but his hand instead crushed it into a ball. Mabel opened the box to reveal the beautiful silver ring sporting a rare gemstone front and center.

"Oh, it's so beautiful. Dipper I.. Dipper?" Mabel saw him staring at his knees with his eyes getting watery.

"Dipper, are you okay?" His mother asked.

"I just.. I just need a minute." He answered, choking on a sob and running towards the bathroom. He locked the door behind him and let his back slide down the wall until he was curled up into a ball. All the pent up frustration and knowledge of the hopelessness of his situation finally manifested itself into the tears that streamed down his face. He couldn't hold it back anymore. He didn't want to hold it back anymore. After years of denying himself from feeling this way. After years of knowing he felt this way, but couldn't do anything about it. After years of lying to his own sister, just to keep her close to him. All of it had led up to him crying on the floor of the bathroom. He found a grim form of humor in it, but it wasn't enough to make him feel any better. The whole world was against him on this. He was all alone. His life had always felt like a dark tunnel with a light at the end that just kept getting farther away. He now felt like the light had just disappeared. Like a light switch was flipped and the future he knew he could never have was snatched away from his very own imagination. His heavy sobbing continued even after ten minutes. He'd never fallen into a hole this deep before and didn't know his way back up from it. He was this close to just accepting his defeat, but then he heard a knock on the door. He pulled himself up using all the strength he had left and opened the door to see Mabel standing there with a frown and concern spread across her entire face. She threw herself into his arms and his tears continued flowing, but he could see the light at the end of the tunnel again. The warm body of the person he loved the most being pressed against him made his unrelenting sobs begin to let up. Maybe he wasn't as alone as he thought. He could always count on her. She had never backed away when he needed her. She was always there for him even if he wasn't there for her.

"I love you, Dipper." She said softly. He felt his heart start rising back into place from her comforting voice. Her very presence was enough to mend him back together.

"I love you too, Mabel." He said back with a shaky voice. Their embrace lasted another couple minutes until Dipper's crying stopped. He then broke apart from her.

"You okay?" She asked.

"I.. I think so." He replied in an uncertain tone.

"Okay then.. by the way, I love the ring, Dip." She spoke, "Thank you." She gave him another hug and a brief dry kiss on the cheek. The feeling of her lips against his skin lingered around for a while.

"Oh.. uh yeah.. y-you're welcome." He stammered out, blushing violently. She giggled at his reddened cheeks.

"Jeez, Dip. Are you sure you're okay? You're looking like a tomato." She joked.

"Heh, yeah.. I guess so." He answered half-heartedly.

"Well, I need to go.. do something in our room. Want to come with?" She asked him.

"What's this 'something'?" He questioned in return.

"Oh, uhhh.. fashion! I need your help with some fashion choices! For the Christmas party tonight!" She shouted out.

"Um, sure." He replied and she took his hand, leading him upstairs. The touch electrifying him again, as it always did. Once they got to the room, Mabel locked the door behind them. She walked into her small closet while Dipper sat on the edge of her bed, twiddling his thumbs. He watched her dig through her wardrobe as she hummed a tune. He continued feeling frustrated at himself for bailing out of giving her the note. Why couldn't he have just given it to her and gotten it over with?

"Hey Dip, come here." She called over to him. He obeyed and met her at the closet's doorway. She turned around and he lost himself in her eyes. He didn't know what to say or do, but he knew he had to do something. He couldn't hide this secret for another year. He had to tell her that she was the only thing that brought joy to his life. That she made life worth living. That he  _ loved _ her.

"I.. um… Mabel, can I ask you something?" He stammered out. She looked at him questioningly.

"Uh, heh, sure, Dip."

"I uh.. d-do you believe in t-true love?" He asked cautiously, trying not to seem nervous, but ultimately failing.

"Uh.. duh! This is me we're talking about, bro." She answered.

"Heh, yeah.. we are talking about you…" He let his voice quietly trail off.

"What? What do you mean?"

"I.. umm.. uh.. just don't be, like.. weirded out or anything." He started and reached into his pocket, crushing the note further as if it were a stress ball, "Mabel, I-I've been meaning to.. umm.. tell you something.."

"Bro, just spit it out already!" She demanded. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves.

"I think I-I kinda like you..? I m-mean I know I do. A-and not just k-kinda, it's j-just that I.. and you.. and-" He continued nervously shaking and staring at the floor until Mabel picked his chin up. They looked each other in the eyes. She gave him a warm smile and wrapped her arms around his neck, gently pressing her lips on his for a brief moment. He was frozen for a second before he caught up with her and wrapped his arms around her body, pressing back into her lips. They broke apart for a very brief moment and then met each other back in the middle for a deep, passionate kiss that allowed them to get lost in their senses and forget about the world outside of each other's arms. Dipper ran his hand through his sister's hair with Mabel following his lead and combing her fingers through his brown curls in return. They broke apart from the kiss and looked at each other. The reality of the situation washed over them as they looked at each other awkwardly, waiting for the other one to say something first.

"So, uhh, ahem," He cleared his throat, "what was that all about?" He finally spoke first. She looked up and he followed her gaze to spot a mistletoe hanging on the closet's doorway, right above their heads.

"When did that get there?" Dipper asked curiously.

"You weren't the only one crushin' on their twin and wanting to confess their love, Dipstick." Mabel answered while poking his cheek, "I'm just the more romantic one in the pair and you had to ruin it by making the first move on me."

"Oh.. heh, sorry about that." 

"Don't be, Dip. I'm just joking." She laughed, "Soo.. uhhmm.. how long have you been feeling like this?" She questioned.

"Well.. uhh.. since twelfth grade." He admitted quietly.

"Whoa, someone's been holding out on me, huh?" She replied.

"Heh.. yeah.. What about you? How long have you.. felt this way?" Dipper asked his sister.

"I don't really know. I realised I felt like this when I was still with Brian, but it felt like I've been having these feelings for much longer. Maybe even back to high school as well." She answered, "I was going to tell you last Christmas, but Brian was there and everything was just so.. blaargh." She elaborated and caught him rolling his eyes when she mentioned Brian, "Ohh. That's why you don't like my boyfriends. You just wanted to be one of them."

"I guess I did."

"Oh, kind of off topic, but I wanted to ask you. How did you afford this ring?" She asked as she looked into the diamond.

"Actually, I, um.. I made it." He answered. She looked at him in disbelief.

"Whaat? How'd you make this piece of frickin' art?"

"I had help from some friends. Mostly Clayton. Oh, that reminds me." Dipper chuckled, "I guess he kind of owes me twenty bucks now.

"What? Why?" She asked curiously.

"He, uh, sort of put a bet on if I told you about how I felt or not."

"Wait.. Clay knows about this?" She questioned him.

"Oh.. maybe a little. I didn't tell him." He clarified, "He just kinda.. found out on his own."

"And he's cool about it?"

"I think so. He teases me about from time to time, but he doesn't seem to care."

"Hm. Weird." She responded plainly.

"Yeah.. weird. So.. like, what exactly are we now?" He asked.

"Hmm, besides a pair of twins that have mutual incestuous feelings for each other? Well.. I'd like to be your girlfriend." Mabel answered with a flirtatious tune in her voice. Her words sent a chill up his spine.

"Then I guess I'm your boyfriend." He replied, trying to imitate her tone, but ended up sounding nervous and awkward instead. She giggled at his attempt of flirting and gave him a quick peck on his cheek. He let out an awkward chuckle.

"What do we do now?"

"Well, we still have a whole week to be together before you gotta fly back to Pennsylvania." She explained.

"What about after that?" He asked.

"I guess we just.. talk to each other online. Like we planned to before college." She answered.

"Yeah.. and I still go up to Gravity Falls during the summer. We could see each other then." He offered.

"I'd like that." She says with a smile.

"Alright, but what do we do right now?"

"I dunno.. maybe go for a short walk before Mom finishes making breakfast?" She proposed.

"Sounds like a plan." He agreed and they put on their heavier clothes.

They left the room holding each other's hand and had smiles on their faces. He tossed the crumpled up love note at her recycling bin and nailed the shot. The twins were happier than they have ever been and were ready to explore the world in a new way. With each other as more than siblings. With each other as lovers.


End file.
